In the beginning God made heaven and earth. . . . Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb that sows seed on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. I also give every green plant as food for all the wild animals of the earth, for all the birds of heaven, and for everything that creeps on the earth in which is the breath of life.” It was so. Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed, it was very good. So evening and morning were the sixth day. Book of Genesis, Chap 1:1, 29-31. (Nelson, Thomas (Feb. 28, 2008). The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World).
“. . . the greatest service which can be rendered to any country is to add a useful plant to its culture; especially a bread grain, next in value to bread, is oil.”, Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States, Memorandum of Services to My Country, Sep. 2, 1800.
It is known in the field of plant husbandry, and in many related fields of endeavor, that a shoot to root temperature differential causes physiological ontogenic changes in plants (i.e. a shoot to root temperature differential during plant development causes physical changes in plant characteristics). Depending upon the plant species or variety, purposeful and selected changes in plant characteristics during development caused by providing shoot to root temperature differentials may be exploited for industrial, scientific, and medical uses.
Referring to FIG. 1, which depicts a phylogenetic diagram (100) of the Cannabaceae sensu lato (110) plant family, Cannabaceae sensu lato (s.l.) is a small family of flowering plants of about one-hundred-and-seventy species grouped in about eleven genera, including by their common names: hemp, hops, and hackberries.
C. celtis L. (the “hackberries”) is the largest genus, containing about one-hundred species. Hackberries have also been scientifically classified as the plant family Celtidaceae (130).
The genus C. humulus L. (“hops”) and C. cannabis L. (“hemp”) each contain only three species. The C. humulus L. and C. cannabis L. genus plants have also been scientifically classified as the plant family Cannabaceae sensu stricto (120).
All Celtidaceae varieties are dioecious perennials (i.e. male and female flowering plants living longer than two growing seasons).
The Cannabaceae sensu stricto (“s.s.”) family are all dioecious having either twining or erect stems. C. humulus L. genera plants have “bines” and are perennials, while C. cannabis L. genera plants have erect stems and are annuals (i.e. living only one growing season).
Since antiquity, the Cannabaceae s.s. family of plants have had a wide variety of innovative uses; with some varieties being used for and as food, spice, and for ceremonial purposes as early as 8000 B.C. Modern uses of the Cannabaceae s.s. family include; varieties being cultivated for plant fiber used in almost innumerable products, varieties being cultivated containing flavonoid and aromatic substances used in the production of beer and in fragrances, varieties being cultivated for human and animal consumption, varieties being cultivated for oil as illumination and lubrication, and being cultivated for oil as bio-fuel replacements for fossil-fuel, and varieties cultivated which contain powerful antimicrobial substances used as sanitizers, antibiotics, and being researched as anti-cancer agents.
The flowers of C. humulus L. varieties are boiled with wort, and at times added post-ferment to beer during brewing.
Flowers of C. humulus L. varieties are also used to prepare medicinal “bitter acids” (prenylated acylphloroglucinol derivatives); traditionally used for ailments such as, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, attention-deficit, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and for intestinal disorders including mucous colitis. “Bitter acids” are also used to improve appetite, increase urine flow, aid lactation, aid digestion, reduce high cholesterol, treat tuberculosis, treat upper and lower urinary tract infections, relieve intestinal cramps, relieve neuropathy pain and numbness, treat priapism, as topical skin creams, and as antibiotics.
Other modern uses of C. humulus L. varieties include, compounds with anntimicrobial effect against certain pathogens like bacteria (staphlococcus aureus and bacillus subtilis), and against certain fungi (trichophylon interdigitale) which cause ringworm in animals and humans.
Flowers of C. humulus L. varieties also contain xanthohumol, (prenylated chalconoid) a compound showing promise in and as anti-platelet activating, so-called “clot-busting”, drugs, used widely in primary and secondary treatment and prevention of thrombotic cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disease.
C. humulus L. flowers also produce other compounds (terpenophenolic metabolites) which may possess estrogenic and endocrine disrupting properties.
Research continues into C. humulus L. variety substances used in and as anti-cancer agents and drugs.
Many cultural anthropologists and ethnobotanists hold that C. cannabis L. varieties are among the first plants cultivated by humanity. Modernly, C. cannabis L. varieties are cultivated and utilized extensively and world-wide. Stems, branches, and leaves are used for plant fiber and as biofuel; sprouts and seeds as food-stocks; seeds for inexpensive lubrication and illumination oil, and also as biofuel; flowers for aromatic, recreational, ritual, sacramental, and medicinal purposes; and roots for medicinal and pharmaceutical formulations.
Substances contained in C. cannabis L. varieties are also used to manufacture pharmaceuticals such as Sativex® and Nabiximols (USAN); non-narcotic formulations to treat moderate-to-severe neuropathic pain and numbness.
Recently, substances in some C. cannabis L. varieties have been used to effectively eradicate both MRSA and ORSA bacterium (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Oxacillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus), occurring both in and ex vivo.
MRSA and ORSA are both extremely virulent, antibiotic resistant strains of bacterium which sicken millions and cause hundreds of thousands of deaths per-year world-wide; particularly in industrialized nations. Research continues into using C. cannabis L. variety substances as and in sanitizers and antibiotics which kill pathogens like MRSA and ORSA, and other drug resistant pathogens.
Due to former restrictive federal and state legislation, the varied and innovative industrial, scientific and medical uses of C. cannabis L. varieties substances are now only recently, and yet increasingly, being realized.
Cannabaceae s.l. plants, particularly the Celtidaceae family, with all genera being perennials, have hardy and robust root systems tolerant of temperatures well below freezing, some varieties withstanding temperatures of approximately 0° F. or below for long periods of time.
Referring again to FIG. 1, the genus Cannabis was formerly placed in the Nettle or Urticaceae (140) genus; or the Mulberry or Moraceae (150) genus. Later, along with the Humulus genus, Cannabis was placed in a separate family—Cannabaceae s.s. (120), as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Recent phylogenetic studies strongly suggest that the Cannabaceae s.s. family arose from within the former Celtidaceae family, and that the two families should be merged to form a single monophyletic family, the family Cannabaceae s.l. In layperson's terms, C. humulus L. and C. cannabis L. genera varieties are genetically like “little trees”.
Being genetically related to, and arising from, the former Celtidaceae family, some varieties of family Cannabaceae s.s. share the trait of root systems which can tolerate temperatures well below 32° F. for long periods of time.
C. humulus L. varieties are perennials as are former Celtidaceae family plants (trees). Being perennials, the plant shoot “dies back” to the root crown every growing season; that is, the plant goes dormant each growing season and “re-sprouts” at the start of the next growing season.
In a related way, C. cannabis L. varieties share some common traits with Celtidaceae trees, although all C. cannabis L. varieties are annuals. One trait some C. cannabis L. varieties share with Celtidaceae trees and some C. humulus L. varieties, is a root system tolerant of temperatures approaching or below 32° F. for long periods of time.
However, most Cannabaceae s.s. varieties possessing this “low temperature root tolerance” are typically and errantly thought to be intolerant overall of temperatures below approximately 50 to 60° F.
In fact, some C. cannabis L. varieties can tolerate low root system temperatures throughout development. Additionally, some C. cannabis L. varieties can tolerate increasingly lower root system temperatures when the plant shoot is maintained at known “optimal” temperatures for a particular varietal strain.
This Cannabaceae s.s. low temperature root tolerance trait coupled with known physiological ontogenic changes caused by shoot to root temperature differentials during plant growth, may be exploited to modify the plant's physiological ontogeny, and thus improve desired plant organ development for industrial, scientific, and medical purposes.
In known horticultural and agricultural systems, the temperature of the growing medium, such as soil, soil replacements, liquids, air-misting, aquaponic reservoirs, and the like, maintain the plant root system temperature within a few degrees of the air/gas mixture about the plant shoot. In other words, in known systems, “the roots are as hot as the shoot”.
However, by maintaining a plant shoot to root temperature differential by lowering the root temperature, the dissolved oxygen saturation level of the nutrient solution within the growth medium may be increased which in turn increases the oxygen and nutrient uptake of the plant. In basic terms; the lower the growth medium nutrient solution temperature, the more oxygen may be dissolved within the solution. This increased dissolved oxygen increases the permeability of the plant roots to water and minerals, which increases plant nutrient uptake, thus increasing the growth rate and overall health of the plant.
As may be deduced, there is interplay between plant solution oxygen solubility and plant nutrient uptake. As oxygen solubility increases, so does plant nutrient uptake. Ordinarily, this increase would be viewed as advantageous. However, in most hydroponic or aquaponic growing systems, as well as in irrigated outdoor farming, nutrient solutions and/or fertilizers have preferred and specific nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium (hereinafter “N-P-K”) concentrations tailored to specific varieties of plants, and further tailored to the growth phases of those plant varieties and varietal strains. Many of these N-P-K formulations are high in concentration and intended to maximize crop yield; and yet be at levels just below a point which begins to damage or “chemically burn” the plant. As selected plant nutrient solution temperatures are lowered, the increased nutrient uptake of the plant requires differing solution N-P-K concentration levels and ratios to improve overall plant development without damaging or “chemically burning” the plant.
As is also well known in agriculture and horticulture, in many plant varieties, high nutrient solution temperatures can cause root system oxygen starvation. As the temperature increases, nutrient solution oxygen solubility dramatically decreases and the plant essentially suffocates. Plant injury from hypoxia (low, or no oxygen) at the roots may take several forms, each differing in severity and depending upon the plant family and variety.
Typically, the first sign of root suffocation is wilting of the plant shoot during the warmest part of the day when temperatures and light levels are highest, or the overall wilting of plants grown with artificial illumination in controlled conditions. Insufficient oxygen reduces the permeability of roots to water and results in the accumulation of toxins, thus both water and minerals cannot be absorbed in sufficient quantities to support plant growth, particularly under plant stress conditions.
This wilting is accompanied by slower rates of photosynthesis and carbohydrate transfer, and over time plant growth is reduced and crop yields are negatively affected. If oxygen starvation continues, mineral deficiencies in the plant will set-in, roots will die back, and plants will become stunted. Under these continuing anaerobic conditions, plants produce a stress hormone, ethylene, which accumulates in the roots and causes the collapse of root cells. Once root injury and deterioration caused by anaerobic conditions has begun, common opportunist pathogens such as Pythium Fusarium, Verticillium, and Rizoctonia, and the like, can easily infect and rapidly destroy the plant.
In such tragic cases, even highly trained and experienced horticulturalist mistakenly treat this “root rot” by attempting to prevent or destroy the pathogens by using various techniques and/or chemicals, rather than by lowering the temperature of the nutrient solution during growth and thus promoting a strong and vigorous root system which naturally protects against such common pathogens.
Known and undesirable methods attempting to prevent and/or treat this “root rot” include; filtering the nutrient solution by reverse-osmosis, “sterilizing” the nutrient solution with hydrogen-peroxide, ozone, or other chemicals, irradiating the nutrient solution with high intensity ultraviolet light, or by other means; and also by introducing a so called “beneficial” pathogen to prevent or destroy an “unwanted” pathogen.
U.S. Pat. Appln. No. 2012/0210640 by Ivanovic discloses a hydroponic growth system wherein nutrient solution temperature is an environmental parameter monitored and controlled by automatic means.
U.S. Pat. Appln. No. 2009/0223128 by Kuschak discloses a hydroponic growth system wherein nutrient solution temperature is an environmental parameter monitored and controlled by automatic and remote means.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,443,546 to Darin discloses a hydroponic growth system wherein a small self-contained water chiller is optionally provided for reducing high nutrient solution reservoir temperatures caused by close proximity to high heat illumination sources.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,390 to Peregrin Gonzalez discloses a hydroponic system wherein the nutrient solution temperature is utilized to maintain the air temperature about the plants being grown.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,168 to Clendening discloses a greenhouse hydroponic system wherein the nutrient solution temperature is held at approximately 55° F., and utilized to maintain the air temperature about the plants being grown.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,634 to Fudger discloses a small home-style computer controlled hydroponic system which automatically maintains various growing parameters such as air temperature, air humidity, illumination cycles, and nutrient solution recirculation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,037 to Aldokimov, et al. discloses an industrial hydroponic system wherein the frequency and duration of nutrient solution release is modified and controlled in accordance with the ambient air temperature.
Taiwan Pat. Appln. No. TW 20080106998 by Chen discloses a hydroponic method which holds plant nutrient solution temperature at 64° F. during winter and 72° F. during summer so plants survive ambient air temperature extremes and reduce the cost of maintaining the ambient air temperature about plant shoots to between 41° F. and 95° F., while preventing plant damage at ambient air temperatures above and below that range.
Chinese Pat. No. CN1253715A to Zhaozhang discloses a method of planting young fruit trees out of season by providing heating pipes about the tree root system, trunk, and branches.
Chinese Pat. Appl. No. CN101653089A by Wu discloses a method of protecting crops from low ambient air temperatures by providing irrigation pipes about the plant root system and supplying warm irrigation solution to keep both the root system and by evaporation the plant shoot system warm.
None of these known prior art systems disclose or teach a method of providing a temperature differential between the shoot and root systems of a plant; nor do they state, suggest, imply, or infer a motivation to do so. Moreover, all of these known prior-art systems teach away from providing a temperature differential between the plant shoot and root systems; indicative of the common and yet errant notion that plant shoot temperature and plant root temperature should be approximately the same throughout all growth phases of plant development.
Dutch Pat. Appln. No. NL1020694 to/by Korsten (hereinafter “Korsten”) discloses making use of the principle of an inverted or reverse temperature gradient for saving energy heating a greenhouse environment. By placing the plants as close together as possible, combined with the use of insulating materials placed around the plant containers, a 20-30% energy saving is purported by creating a “mirco-climate” about each plant (disclosed as a 1 meter space or sphere about the plant).
Korsten also discloses a 7° C. temperature gradient between the greenhouse environment and the growing medium about the plant roots. However, Korsten fails to disclose a distance from the plants from which this gradient extends. Therefore, the 7° C. temperature gradient value disclosed is meaningless. However, if the distance from the plant is presumed to be the disclosed “micro-climate” of 1 meter, then it can be inferred that Korsten discloses a temperature gradient of no greater than 7° C. for every 1 meter distance from the plant root system.
A stated objective of Korsten is to save energy in heating a greenhouse by grouping plants together, providing heat to the growing medium about the roots, and creating a “micro-climate” about the plants, and that this “micro-climate” will aid a grower in providing more controllable cultivation during plant flowering or fruiting morphology.
However, Korsten fails to disclose or teach a method of providing a temperature differential between the shoot and root systems of the plant for the purpose of changing plant physiological ontogeny or morphogeny; nor does Korsten state, suggest, imply or infer a motivation to do so. Korsten also does not disclose a plant family or genus, which renders the disclosure moot as to preferred and specific environmental growing conditions.
What is desired therefore is a method of improving the growth of plants of the family Cannabaceae s.s by maintaining a plant shoot temperature which differs from the plant root system temperature based at least in part upon the plant variety, the growth phase of the plant, and the plant organ for desired improvement, by providing a gas mixture temperature about the plant shoot which differs from the growth medium and/or plant growth nutrient solution temperature about the plant root system, whereby the plant shoot temperature may be maintained independently of the plant root system temperature.
What is additionally desired is a method of improving the growth of plants of the family Cannabaceae s.s. by providing a plant nutrient solution temperature below which pathogens such as Pythium, Fusarium, Verticillium, Rizoctonia and the like can tolerate, and a temperature above which causes irremediable damage to the plant variety being improved.